The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was off to a rocky start, what with the fandom all but proclaiming it a lost cause before it was out and a vocal minority harassing the persons of color in the cast. With the third episode now streaming, tempers are subsiding and people can look at the Amazon adaptation from a more moderate vantage point.
What do you know? It seems they’re really enjoying this latest episode more than the first two. Some are even participating in the fun community affair of speculating about who’s who in this mystery-riddled foray into Tolkien’s Middle-earth. As ever, and in the interest of not being left behind, we’ve rounded up everything of significance that happened in the Arda fandom and The Rings of Power circles since yesterday.
Could this be who Halbrand ultimately turns into?
Even more so than Sauron, it seems that everyone is intrigued about Halbrand and what he’s hiding under that serene mask, if he’s not Sauron himself. The character became a subject of speculation as soon as he saved Galadriel in the Sundering Seas, and his behavior in Númenor only made everyone more suspicious. Some think they’ve figured out who he’ll become, a character that no one will see coming, though the theory makes a lot of sense. Beyond the King of the Dead, most seem to think he’s either one of the Nazgul or the Witch-king of Angmar himself. Anyone except a hero apparently, but such seems to be his lot.
Are Elves easier to make fun of? Galadriel actress Morfydd Clark weighs in
The way Amazon depicts the elves in The Rings of Power might become a subject of controversy, especially since Peter Jackson has always cast them in an ethereal light. The new show is dispensing with that and getting into the nitty-gritty of elven politics and even the inner dilemmas of its characters, such as Galadriel and Elrond, which is probably why many fans will find the discrepancy a bit too jarring to behold. Morfydd Clark thinks this is why elves will be easy to make fun of, though the fandom hasn’t shown such an inclination thus far—and thank Eru Ilúvatar for that.
The viewers are obsessed with Númenor and Elendil
Ever since The Lord of the Rings briefly talked about Númenoreans and we learned the full extent of their badassery through The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, fans of Tolkien’s fictional world have been clamoring to see them in live-action. Jackson’s cinematic trilogy started by showing an army of Gondor, commanded by Elendil and his son Isildur, making their way to Mount Doom. That was hardly enough to satiate diehard enthusiasts, not to mention that it wasn’t Númenor proper. The Rings of Power has finally given us an opportunity to see the island kingdom in all of its glory, and fans are simply obsessed with how great it looks. Lloyd Owen as Elendil is also garnering a lot of traction, so it’ll be interesting to see where the faithful captain will go from here.
That’s all there is for now, but do check back in tomorrow at the same time for even more news on Middle-earth and its tumultuous new adaptation, The Rings of Power.